Alternator Clip "How-To"...

[SVTFucus]

This Friday I decided to find out what was causing my electrical problems. The problems leading up this were:
-flickeing headlights and interior lights
-battery light coming on and off while driving
-"clicking" noise coming from underneath the dashboard

I had read many threads from various boards from buying grounding kits to replacing the alternator clip to correct this problem. Upon closer inspection I noticed that one of my wires had come out of the clip to the alternator, with hope that this was causing ALL of the above symptoms. I bought a new "wiring pigtail kit" from ford and followed the instructions to install it. Below are the pictures(still need to take some more pictures) showing the broken wire, the kit, the butt connectors I used to wire the new clip in place of the old one and the final result.

Sep-2010 Update:
Detailed instructions from FF member CaysE

Originally Posted by CaysE

Remove the negative battery terminal connection.
Unplug the 3 or 4 connectors that are in the way.
Unplug the vaccuum line that's in the way (fuel pressure sensor?).
Unplug the 3-wire alternator connector. Remove the electrical tape and pull back the wire loom. You should see one wire has a fusible link on it.
Unlatch the main wiring harness from the firewall. You have to pop the harness out of 2 or 3 clips. This lets you pull the harness higher up so it's easier to solder.
Cut the 3 wires behind the fusible link (about halfway to the main harness). KEEP THE CONNECTOR! The replacement part does NOT have color coded wiring!
Keeping note of which wire goes where, cut the new plug's wiring to length, strip the ends, solder, and heatshrink.
Re-mount the main harness, plug everything back in, and you're good to go!

Sep-2010 Update:
Stay tuned for new pics.
Broken wire:


What the packaging looks like of the kit:


What the kit consists of(new clip, 3 wire connectors, 3 heat shrink tubes):


The butt connectors I used to connect the new wires of the clip, to the wires leading to the old clip:


I will have more of the wires connected, and then of the heat shrink wrapped around the connectors and wires. Just thought I'd show everyone how it looked. Total time it took to install was about 30 minutes.

Also, the clip can be removed from the alternator by using a small flat head screwdriver and sliding the clip off the bracket.

[Sponsor]

[Bigfonsz]

I will be doing mine tonight. Thanks

[SVTFucus]

np man......I did cut the wires from the new clip about 2 inches from the clip and have about a 1/4" of wire going into the butt connector.

Just be SURE to put the heat shrink on the wire BEFORE you squeeze the butt connector down, THEN move the heat shrink over the butt connector and heat.

PM me if you have any questions......I have class tonight till 9pm Texas time.

[WD40]

"Stickied"...
Till S2 (or me for that matter) gets it added to the Complete "How-To" Archive.

Thanks SVTFucus!

[SVTFucus]

thanks for making it a "sticky" WD40....just trying to do my part to help others out!!

It's been since Friday that the new clip has been on and there has been NO problems with lights flickering or the battery light coming on.

[remmargorp]

Since this is a sticky, I feel the title should be corrected to say alternator.

[WD40]

^^^Thanks...fixed it.

[Aqua12632]

Nice man great post - helped me to resolve a slightly different issue which actually caused the power to spike sometimes and dim other times (sometimes flickering). At first, when i took everything apart, i found that the center wire on the connector had broken out, so i attempted to repair the connector. afterwards, the issue was still there, although slightly less severely - most of my friends (and even a ford dealership) told me not to worry about it - and i wasnt too worried about it until one night it burnt out one of my headlights - after that i did some more research on the issue and came across this post - Thanks man - fixed my issue the same way (and replaced the alternator with higher performance model, although now i know the old one still works)

symptoms i noticed
-flickering power / power spikes (15-20% brighter) with headlights and interior lights (specifically on hard accel)
-battery light coming on and off while driving, sometimes it stayed on
-"clicking" noise coming from underneath the dashboard (sounds like a relay)
-alternator tested while problem existed (@2k RPM) ~25 Amps/12V
-tested voltage during power spike (reached 15V-16V at battery)

...hope this additional information can help someone else

btw : if anyone is interested in an OEM alternator - i am interested in selling, or possibly trading for other focus parts (anyone have an extra SVT IMRC )

[DFv2]

I have all of the same exact symptoms, yet my wires look to be intact. Hoping it doesnt turn into a real issue before I can find the source.

[ANTHONYD]

I have the same "flickering" but my car also whines (almost sounds boosted) From what I hear, this is an idication that the alternator is on it's way out.

Can anyone else confirm this for me?